Congress party’s worst days are far from over

India’s Congress party needs to focus on improving leadership

Last updated:
2 MIN READ

The results of the Indian elections recently held in five states are another blow to the Congress party. The party is becoming weaker as time passes since the 2014 general elections.

The results in the states of Assam, West Bengal and Kerala were totally an unexpected situation for the political party. In Assam, their performance was dismal. In West Bengal, Congress could not gain much momentum with the communist parties as its alliance, but in Kerala the party lost its steam and the communist parties were their opponents. It’s a strange situation.

Fiasco after fiasco, the Congress party is eroding. No doubt, the party is in a deep leadership crisis, leave alone its popularity and acceptability by the people. Lack of leadership quality in Rahul Gandhi is the main reason. Notwithstanding the actual fact that Congress leaders do not attribute the blame on Rahul Gandhi for his debacles. That shows their love for the Gandhis. However, mere love will not work on the battlefield. Aggressiveness and political acumen of experienced leaders are the need of the hour. Senior Congress leaders should boldly express their feelings and act for the betterment of the party. At the same time, Gandhi should also pay heed to his seniors’ guidance. The party can’t afford to be complacent with minor victories and they should not sit idle on the vote percentage calculations. They needs to analyse each and every debacle carefully and take corrective measures.

If the Congress party is keen to present a new rejuvenated face to the electorate, it needs to radically reform itself. If they fail to do that, it will only sink further into political oblivion. A leadership change with proper political acumen and dynamism is a must. But before setting out to do that, the Congress needs to set its house in order. An important first step in that direction would require it to set in motion a genuine process of democratisation of the party, its structure and functioning. This will require elections for all posts, including those of the party president, the members of the Congress Working Committee, its apex decision making body and the state presidents. Otherwise, its worst days are far from over.

Congress as a strong opposition party in the Indian parliament is a must for a healthy democracy and to provide useful debates.

- The reader is an office manager in a private company based in Abu Dhabi

Sign up for the Daily Briefing

Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox

Up Next